Gold is a chemical element. Its chemical symbol is Au and its atomic number is 79.

Compared to other metals, gold is less chemically reactive.

Gold is a good conductor of electricity and heat.

Gold is shiny, soft and dense. It is also malleable, which means it can easily be beaten into thin sheets or other shapes.

Gold is malleable enough for just 1 gram to be hammered into a sheet 1 square meter in size. It can also be made so thin that it appears transparent.

Due to a similar appearance to gold, the mineral pyrite has the nickname fool’s gold.

The amount of gold in various alloys (a combination of gold and another metal such as silver) is measured in carats (k). Pure gold is 24k.

As of 2009, it has been estimated that humans have mined around 160000 tonnes of gold.

Over the last 100 years South Africa has been the biggest producer of gold. In recent times however it has been surpassed by China.

As of 2009, the USA has 8133 tonnes of gold reserves while Canada only has 3.

Throughout history gold has often been seen as a symbol of wealth.

Gold is the most popular precious metal for investments.

The price of gold continually fluctuates and is often linked to major economic events.

There is a monetary system called the ‘gold standard’ which fixes a unit of money to a certain weight of gold.

Over the years gold has been used to create expensive jewelry, coins and various forms of art such as the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun’s famous burial mask. In modern times it has also been used for things such as electronics and dentistry.

Injectable gold has been proven to help reduce pain and swelling in patients suffering from tuberculosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Gold is a popular choice when it comes to rewarding achievement with medals, statues and trophies. Academy Award, Olympic and Nobel Prize winners all receive golden items in recognition of their achievement.

Prickly pear cactus, also called nopal, is promoted for treating diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity and hangovers. It is also touted for its antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties. Some preliminary evidence shows that prickly pear cactus can decrease blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes

The wealth of health benefits that come from nopales are mainly attributable to its nutrition and vitamin content, which includes riboflavin, vitamin B6, copper, iron, fiber, vitamin A, C, and vitamin K, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and manganese.

*Improve Digestion

* Weight Loss

*Prevent Cancer

*Boost Metabolism

*Build Strong Bones

*Improve Sleep

*Anti-inflammatory Agent

*Control Diabetes

The extracts from the leaves of prickly pear cactus can be powerful regulators of glucose levels within the body. For patients with type 2diabetes, it can cause a reduced spike in glucose levels, which makes the managementof diabetes easier.

Walt Disney World is offering a January promotion again for Florida residents to buy multi-day tickets.

The Florida Resident Discover Disney special is a three-day ticket for $159 plus tax or a four-day ticket for $179 plus tax.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that it’s a 14 percent increase from the previous January offers in 2017 and 2016 when the three-day ticket cost $139 for Florida residents. However, Disney says there are no blockout dates this year.

Proof of Florida residency is required.

The tickets are valid for one park — Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Epcot or Animal Kingdom — per day unless the tickets are upgraded to park hoppers, which cost an additional $30 plus tax on the three-day ticket and $37.50 plus tax on the four-day ticket.

A power outage hit Disneyland in California, affecting dozens of attractions on Wednesday.

The outage started before 11 a.m. local time and hit Mickey’s Toontown and Fantasyland, according to a Disneyland representative.

As of early evening, power was restored “to all areas of the resort,” the company said, and Disneyland was expected to be “fully operational … as attractions come back online.”

Earlier, guests were escorted off rides until power was restored. A representative for the park said they were not aware of any people still stranded on rides.

The Anaheim Fire Department said it has not been tapped for any rescues.

“We escorted guests off of rides as part of standard procedure until the power was restored,” Disney representative Elva Rubalcava said, adding that power has been restored to a majority of the park, although some rides may still be affected.

The 85-acre theme park averages about 44,000 visitors a day, and holiday weeks are among its busiest times of the year.

Park officials attributed the outage to an issue with a resort transformer.

A representative for Disneyland said they do not plan to offer refunds to park visitors as of now.

“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience to all of our Guests who were impacted by today’s power outage at Disneyland,” the park’s Twitter feed tweeted just before 6:00 p.m. PST on Wednesday. “We are happy to report that all attractions are fully operational.”